Disney has been going through an identity crisis since 2020, and the studio's choice of stories to tell is perhaps the smoking gun. The House of Mouse has broken from its traditional narratives with many of its recent releases, but it might be time to go back to the drawing board.
Some fans, as seen in the footage below, believe that a change in culture has forced Disney to lose its masculine influence with some of its classic characters. Although fans can still look to Marvel and the Star Wars galaxy, it's been ages since we've had an animated hero to save the day.
Where have all the good men gone?
@opinionatedbacon on YouTube shares their opinion on the matter by stating that Disney has lost its sense of masculinity, and it's creating problematic tropes. Similar to the quirky heroine stereotype that began in Frozen (2013), Disney's leading guys have kinda been dumbed down in the process.
While the user might be taking somewhat of an extreme approach, this writer believes the real matter goes far beyond gender-related issues. It's not just that we need positive masculine figures as much as we need positive feminine ones, but that we truly need some new animated heroes.
Take a look at some of the iconic films of the Disney Renaissance where we have characters like Hercules, Aladdin, and Simba. Along with being the film's iconic heroes, they all share one key ingredient that some modern Disney characters lack: dynamic character development.
That's not to say modern Disney films don't have fully fleshed-out characters, but when was the last time we saw a Disney or Pixar character overcome adversity or obstacles by fighting a villain, going on a quest, or facing their fears?
In losing the traditionally masculine archetype pointed out in the video above, we've lost a key fixture from the Disney formula. It should also be noted that this is not strictly a male problem either, as Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) clearly demonstrated.
In this writer's opinion, what we need is another hero like Hercules or Mulan to inspire a new generation of fans. With the wealth of fairytales floating around and waiting to be brought to the screen, it's past time for Disney to get back to basics and do what it did best so many years ago.
To check out some of the heroes from Disney's glory days, tune into Disney+.